TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (Wisdom 7:7-11; Heb 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30) Theme: We are invited to make our passage towards the True Wisdom Reflection: Orientation of human life – walking towards betterment - Human life moves forward and upward: God is love and he has ordained humanity to live in this project of life. Man and woman share in the creation and generation of new creatures with and within the bond of marital and family love. All others forms of love, described and defined with the haman relationships, flow from this mutual love which has its origin in God. We are called to create the community of love. This is the message that the Church has given us on the last Sunday. Today, the same liturgy of the Church is inviting us, through its reaidngs and proclamation, to make our way towards the Wisdom. In fact, human life is not to be stopped. It is a continuing process. It walks towards its day by day development. It looks for betterment every day. If human life stops its walk towards its wise future it becomes ruined and contaminated with the filth of false images and damaging ideologies. Human being is given life, divine life. He has filled with the divine breath. He is created to be with the divine being. His life is always in and for God. This is his destiny. Each individual in the world has to arrive at this destiny: to participate in the divine life. In the words of today’s gospel: to inherit eternal life. Man is not destined to turn back to his worldly and material life. He moves forward with the hope and upward with the grace. - Passage is unconditional: this movement of man, this passage of man is compulsary. There is no othe way for the human life. If it misses this passage it loses its significance itself. In fact, every liturgical celebration reminds us of this passage. Every Eucharistic feast guides us into the path that Jesus himself made. Jesus has made his journey/passage from this world to the Father and from the darkness of death to the light of life. The whole mystery of Jesus is consisted in this pasqua of Jesus, passage of Jesus. When we celebrate the mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection in the faithful celebrations, we participate in the life of Jesus himself. This participation in Jesus makes us to continue our journey with him. The nature of the river water is to be always in running. Other wise it gets contaminated and stagnant. So also the human life. Human life is made for the passage towards its destiny. If it stops this movement it becomes filthy and useless. Therefore, the passage is necessary. - Daily battle is needed for the authentic life: Every day offers us the package of joy and package of sorrow. We meet both the moments: that of tremendous hope and that of unavoidable conflict. It is the human battle. It is everyday war. Battle between what we are and what we have. War between our internal desires and our external incapacities. We are faced with the conflict and complex situations of life. It is our daily experience. First question that arises from this constant struggle of life is this: what to do? What more can I do? We all know what happens in life. There is uncertainty: we cannot give guarantee for anything. There is limitation to our decisions: our liberty is curtailed by the various conditions, like family, friends, relations, faith and so on. There is an attachment to the material and perishing goods: we are filled with the innumerous desires, for power, for riches, for health, for beauty and so on. We are conscious of our incapacities. But we never give up. We want to move ahead. We want to fight. We want to battle with the life. We search for an answer for the question. What I can do to have a peaceful life? But the answer demands more requirements. Human formation, personal maturity, conviction of both material and spiritual values, knowledge of the reality and finally the authentic conscience are the requirements. Only when we possess these qualities we can arrive at the genuine answer for the internal happiness. This is called the prudence and wisdom. It is called the wisdom of the heart. It enables us to avoid unnecessary and unreachable wants of life and empowers us to walk towards our betterment with and within the possibilities we have. Readings: An invitation to prefer the life than the material possessions - To be wise means to be in the school of Jesus: Wisdom is the gift of the Spirit and thus it has divine origin and divine destiny. Therefore, it has also divine purpose. Man is given this gift so that he walks towards the divine destiny he has offered. As the wisdom filled beings we are called to place ourselves in the school of Jesus and in the path of Jesus. He makes us wise. His teaching gives us illumination. His presence gives us prudence. His power makes us divine. He is the answer for our life. He is the destiny of our life. Yes, indeed, man is given the material goods so that he becomes better being for God. But what happnes now is that man is controlled by them. Jesus admonishes: man may win whole world/ all the material goods possible in the world; but if he loses his soul what can he gain by them (Math 16:26). He is highest Good possible. We are called to follow him. Our wisdom consists in this: it is He whom we have to desire more, look for more and love more. In him we have abundant riches: riches of eternal life. It is for this purpose Jesus invites us to leave and sell out everything we have so that we have a space for him and place for his action. All the reaidngs and in particular the gospel stand as the ultimate example for this. - Material goods are nothing infront of the Wisdom (first reading): we have beautiful prayer of the author of the Book of Wisdom. He prays not for any worldly possessions but for the wisdom. He considers everything that of the world as vanity before the wisdom he finds and embraces. Spirit of wisdom values more than anything else for him. He prefers for it instead of choosing crowns and thrones and for him riches are nothing (v.8). Even the gold and argent cannot be compared with it because before the power of wisdom they are just like sand in the seashore (v. 9). Wisdom is loved more than the health and beauty (v. 10). When it is there, everything will come along with her (v. 11). It is the same teaching that Jesus proposes with regard to the kingdom of heaven. He calls his disciples and his people to vote for the kingdom rather than the worldly wealth. His invitation is clear: you seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be given to you (Math 6:31-33). In fact, in the Old Testament itself we have a beautiful example for this: King Solomon has asked for the wisdom and God gives him even the riches. There are various references in the bible: “where there is the treasure, there is your heart” (Luke 12:34); the attachment to the wealth is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10); we have not brought nothing into the world and we will not carry with us anything (1 Tim 6:7-8); and “the end of all things is near, therefore, be moderate and alert to dedicate youself to the prayer” (1 Pet 4:7). In fact, In the Christian proclamation wisdom has the first place and the material goods come only after her. - First thing – follow the commandments (Gospel): Gospel is very inspiring. It illuminates our mode of chosing. It guides our minds and hearts to make right choice. The Letter to the Hebrews brings to our knowledge the power of the Word of God. It reaches to the depth of our hearts. It makes us kill what is bad and futile in the soul. It enables us to fill our life with the presence of the wisdom. It is for this purpose called as the “double-edged sword” (Heb 4:12 – second reading). In the gospel we find a young man coming to Jesus. The dialogue between Jesus and young man looks very usual but takes us to the extraordinary and challenging demand of life. Young man has come to Jesus with a question: what I have to do in order to gain the eternal life? Jesus starts with the common teaching and answers him to follow the commandments. “Oh! That’s all. That is very simple. That I know and I am already observing them from my childhood” is the counter of the young man. The quest of young man can be considered here. He knows that it is not enough. He is aware that what he is doing is just peripherial and external. He is also conscious that there is something else and something more to do. That’s what is expressed in his next question: what more I need to do to inherit the eternal life? - Just one more thing is needed – go, sell, give to the poor and come and follow me (Gospel continued): with the second question, the yound man is coming to the right path. He is moving towards the authentic search. He is making his passage towards the wisdom. Jesus finds this spark of desire in him. Rays of mercy overflowed in his eyes. He fixes his sight on him. He loves him so much. He wants that this young man truly enters into life that endures for ever. This time his words are little more kind: just one thing is missing. This time his invitation is radical: go home, sell all that you possess, give it to the poor, come and follow me and you will have a treasure in heaven. No more external performances. There is a need for internal conversion. There is a demand for the total change of mind and heart. With lot of joy Jesus must have expected that this young man does as he has indicated. In fact, Jesus desired for the return of this man to the possession of the eternal bliss. But the young man goes back with gloomy face and sorrowful mind. He could not accept the invitation of Jesus because it more demanding. It asks for total renouncement of his riches. It asks for total abandonment of self. He came with lot of desire to gain the eternal life but went out with lot of discouragement. He thought Jesus would ask for something else than his riches. He was also ready to give up anything except his possessions. Finally, he proved himself to be the salve of what he has. Finally, he opted for ignorance and wealth than the wisdom and heavenly treasure. Jesus continues his teaching. He asks for the total foregoing of all that one has and one possess in order to enter into His kingdom. Young man has lost forever the opportunity for eternal life because he is intimately attached to the world and its pleasures. Conclusion: A call to imbibe the attitude of prudence and wisdom - Often we resemble the young rich man: Like the rich young man in the gospel, we often satisfy ourselves with the minimum we do. We are often content with our external performances of faith. We come to the church. We participate in the mass. We offer prayers. We recite rosary. We make pilgrimages. And we think that we have fulfilled our obligations. And we feel that we have observed the commandments. Yes. With this we remain mere pious christians. We have to move ahead. Pious practices are not enough. We need to make a radical choice for the wisdom. We need to enter into the depths of Jesus’ invitation. Jesus wants our whole life. He is not satisfied with the lips with which we pray. He is not content with the hands that we extend to help others. He desires more from us. He wants little more from us. He wants our heart and our soul. He fixes his king look upon us and calls us to the profound and radical giving up everything for His sake and for the cause of his Gospel. Are we ready to do as Jesus is asking us or we just imitate the rich young man and remain unmoved. We become stagnant and tastless. Our life is full of worldy pleasures which pass away soon and we are just useless as the first reading reminds us. We are not aware of what we are losing: we are losing eternal life and heavenly treasure. Rich man went away sad. If we do not make any movement towards Jesus we also walk out of the Church unsatisfied and with the gloomy faces. - Jesus is the Precious Pearl: In the world that is changing rapdily it is hard to understand and digest the values that Jesus proposes. Man claims that God himself placed the whole creation in his hands. Modern man thinks that he can do anything with the goods around him. Fine. He is the master of the material things. It is plan of God. God from the beginning of the creation ordered and ordained man to make use the things and thus carry on the project of generation. The ordine of God is neglected. Man, who supposed to be the master, has become the slave of the world. He has fallen in the trap of worldly desire. He is controlled by pleasures and attractions of the material life. He has forgotten that the world around him is the providence of God and not his merit. God did not want this. The truth is something else: the things of the world are temporary and passing. Man may claim for the power and authority but how long he can exercise it. Certainly not for ever. Even in his life itself he becomes servant for others and other realities. Man may claim for the riches and wealth and he may work hard for accumulating them. But how long he can enjoy these possessions. Certianly not for ever. He has to leave them to somebody else and go away. Man may claim for the beauty and health and he spends hours together to gain and maintain it. But how long? He soon meets the sickness and death. Everything that man possesses, thus, has the limited time value. Not that man does not need worldly things. He needs indeed as long as he is in the world. Jesus does not condemn having the material goods. He condemns only man’s attachment to them. He condemns the man who is becoming slave to these riches. We invites us not to put our trust in these passing pleasures. Instead, he is calling us to follow him. Yes, Jesus is the heavenly treasure and eternal life. - Our immediate mission is to make the passage towards Jesus: we are never expected to be the same. If we are today as same as yesterday, what is the use. If we come to the church and return to our homes without carrying the word of God, without learning something more from the gospel, what is the spiritual growth we make. If we remain with the same gloomy face and heavy heart even after listening to the wisdom of God, what we can gain. We need to do something more. We need to better ourselves. Our present should travel towards the future, not backwards to the past. Our faith has to grow day by day by words and by deeds. We need to become better Christians. This is the passage we are asked to make. We move closer and closer to Jesus so that we move distant and distant from our earthly attachments. With this we inherit the eternal life. With this, however, we gain the tremedous peace of mind and heart in this life itself as Jesus promises to Peter in the gospel. We need to treat what we have only as the providence of God and offer it to the growth of kingdom of God. Infact, Jesus is not asking the young rich man to go to the school of philosopy and theology and he is not asking him to frequent the library to acquire the knowledge of the eternal life. He invites him to choose him: “follow me” (Mark 10:21). He is the Wisdom of God whom man has to value more than any earthly riches. He is the Word of God whom man has to listen and follow more than any earthly knowledge. He is the Treasure of Heaven and He is the Eternal Life. Therefore, today we need to move towards Him. We need to enter into his circle. We need to follow him with a radical change of heart. We need to make our passage towards our betterment by travelling towards True Wisdom: Jesus Christ.